September Rain
by MaidenInTheMoon
Summary: Three years is a long time. As team seven was gutted and its members dispersed, Sakura is left alone to wonder how things came to be the way they are. She finally manages to find solace in the only other member of the team who's still around. [KakaSaku!]


**September Rain**

Anou . . . I've been working on a lot of KakaSaku pieces . . but this is the only one that really jumped out at me. Er. . .make sure you're caught up with the latest Naruto chapters?

VVVVVVVVVVVVVV

_The first year was the hardest._

That was the year when every other morning she woke up unable to breathe yet unable to cry. And her head would spin in all directions as her fingernails dug into her scalp, desperately attempting to numb the pain.

That was the year she became stronger, stronger than she ever thought she was capable of becoming but still she felt weak inside. She was so fearful that someone would finally expose her true anxieties to the world and she would be shunned as the failed component of team seven, the only one of team seven with a sannin for a guide but couldn't become strong.

Yet in the early mornings, when she found herself staring at some larger and more injured specimen she was scheduled to save, she somehow mustered the strength to prove herself worthy in front of the female piece of the legendary Sannin puzzle.

Despite that, there were times when her thoughts betrayed her and her actions faltered.

Her hands would be steeped in fresh blood, blood that she was desperately attempting to put back in its place when a name would flash across her mind.

_Sasuke _

"SAKURA!"

The animal in front of her would be dead after the hokage boomed her name.

The aftermath would always be the same. Sakura would find herself apologizing profusely as the vindictive blond woman unleashed her fifty-year-old wrath onto her poor, distracted apprentice.

Later, after the hokage stormed off to find some intoxicating drink and a replacement animal, Sakura would sit alone on the office balcony, staring off at the fuzzy clouds shuffling their way across the sky. Her eyes would fade as the dark jade slowly gave way to an apple green, indicating that Sakura had become consumed by her thoughts.

Sometimes, when she least suspected it, he would show up.

He always appeared the minute her mind threatened to teeter over the edge into the darkest oblivion.

"Yo!"

His greeting would always produce the same response from her.

Sakura would be so shocked that she would manage to knock something over, usually a glass. The pink-haired girl would end up cursing herself for her stupidity and her former teacher for his.

"Don't do that! I'm already in trouble with Tsunade-sama!" She would scold the laughing man in front of her, whose lone eye would close, signaling his smile beneath the mysterious cloth that hid his face.

"Sorry, sorry, you just looked so dazed I couldn't help it."

Sakura's green eyes would narrow, giving her face the appearance of anger, but his chuckling would soon melt away all therage in her and she would laugh too as she kneeled to pick up the broken shards ofwhatever she had sent to the ground.

"How's training?" He would ask.

"Not so great, I just killed my last specimen." Sakura would reply, sighing lightly as she extended her bloody hands to let him witness the proof.

"Hmm? Hokage tells me that you are an exceptional student." Kakashi would ask, examining her soiled hands in the process.

"Yah, so exceptional that I sent her off looking for her sake bottle." Sakura would reply, pulling her hands away from his scrutinizing eye.

"Well . . . work harder then."

Kakashi would then proceed to pat her gently on the head, occasionally, he would let his hands move to slip the stray hair out of Sakura's face and tuck it behind her ear.

He would smile again, and before Sakura found the words to respond, he would be gone, just another ninja in the wind.

Tsunade would have returned by this time, cursing the heavy animal she had in tow while taking precisely timed swigs from her porcelain bottle.

VVVVVVVVV

It was sometime during the first year when it started happening.

She still remembered the first night with astounding detail. She could still recall the light pink pajama bottoms and the tight black tank top she wore that night. She could still taste the remnants of her mother's strawberry cheesecake on her tongue.

That night she finally woke up crying, suddenly longing for Sasuke's cold eyes and Naruto's warm smile.

She wanted to wrap her arms around Sasuke's waist like the time she stopped him from killing the sound ninja and the time she couldn't stop him from becoming a sound ninja. She wanted to smash her elbow into the top of Naruto's sunny blond head as he ran towards her with wide-open arms, laughing with the same glee she could expect from a four year old.

But they weren't there, and she didn't know how long it would be until they would ever be. All she knew was that she had to get out, she was suffocating in her own bed.

Sakura could remember the feel of the cool night air against her bare arms as she slipped out of her window, landing on the ground silently, just as Konoha ninja should. She felt something like a kitten sneaking out of its comfort zone, and she enjoyed the brief feeling of adrenaline wash through her.

She took off, flying by familiar places as she gave them only momentary glances. Her old schoolyard was devoid of children and laughter, and the place resonated with calmness in the white-blue hue of the moonlight.

Naruto's favorite ramen stand was dark and silent and Sakura resisted the urge to peek beneath the flaps waving in the wind to see if her teammate was there, sitting at his favorite stool, stuffing his face with a steaming hot bowl of miso ramen.

She knew it would have been in vain.

Sakura ran some more, silently crossing the red bridge her beloved team used to meet at. The water in the stream below rippled languidly with the gentle prodding of the night time wind and Sakura caught a sideways glimpse of her own body briefly covering the reflection of the moon.

A smile tugged at her lips as she admired her own figure, stealthy and black against the snowy glow of the moon in the water. She had made progress since her academy days.

The girl found herself in a clearing. It glowed with a translucent quality as she stepped into the center. For a moment, she did not move, but in a sudden whim, all the pain she felt when she woke up in her bed came back to her, and as if by instinct, Sakura drew herchakra to her right hand.

The ground shook as pieces of earth dislodged themselves and fanned out in every direction. A stone grazed Sakura's cheek and her blood settled itself into the path her tears had made earlier. The thick red liquid almost glittered against her milky skin. As Sakura's chakra drained and the ground continued to fall apart, the girl fell to her knees and her eyes became blank, the spark that lit up the jade in her eyes flickered and dulled. Sakura managed to stand up and she proceeded to stagger awayas she feltthe last of her energy dissolve into the crumbling dirt beneath her.

VVVVVVVVV

Kakashi silently pulled off the blood-stained bandages wrapped around his right arm as he approached his apartment. His gait was slow and steady as he soundlessly approached his doorstep in the dark. As he drew closer, he caught sight of some pink tresses splayed against the doorframe and his dark eye widened.

The man sighed and slowly ran a hand through his silver hair before he proceeded to scoop the girl up in his arms and push open the door behind her.

VV

When Sakura woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar bed, she panicked. A dull pain on her cheek and the feel of a bandage over it were whathelped herregain her thoughts and she cringed slightly at the remembrance of her destructive behavior the night before. She made a mental note to not go near the clearing in the next few days.

As she looked around the room through her unruly pink hair, she caught sight of some tell-tale signs of the apartment's owner. An orange-covered book sat invitingly on the nightstand and Sakura thought twice about whether or not she should attempt to open it. In the end, she decided she would keep her mind as uncorrupted as possible and she settled on looking at two framed pictures resting on the headboard.

Green eyes scanned over the first picture and Sakura's heart fell for a moment. The familiar picture of a smiling girl standing between two frowning boys beneath a smirking sensei brought her memories of happier days. Sakura shook her head and chose to shift her eyes to the older portrait besides the newer one.

It was almost the exact same picture, but with what Sakura thought was a prettier looking girl and a smarter looking sensei.

Sakura's eyes fixed upon the younger Kakashi, who somehow channeled the same feel that Sasuke did in the picture on the left. She noted how his two eyes matched in the picture and for a moment she became exceptionally curious as to how he received his sharingan. As Sakura stared at the young version of her sensei, she found herself wondering why he looked so angry. She would have never suspected him to take such a dismal picture. Nevertheless, Sakura couldn't help but notice how handsome the young boy was, and she wasn't so sure she couldn't say the same thing about the older version.

Right as she was about to smack herself for those thoughts, the object of her musing appeared in the room.

"Good morning Sakura, have a nice sleep?"

Sakura twitched at his sudden entrance, and she all too hurriedly tore her eyes away from the picture.

"Kakashi-sensei! I'm so sorry for causing you trouble!" The girl replied nervously, already beginning to feel the blush rising in her cheeks.

"Ah . . you certainly did surprise me, it's been a while since anyone's fallen asleep on my doorstep."

Sakura grinned sheepishly as her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Sorry . . ."

"Are you hungry? Would you like some breakfast?"

Sakura shook her head and took the chance to stand up, causing Kakashi to tilt his head, as if questioning her latest motive.

"I think I have to go now, um . . . thank you for letting me stay here!"

Before the man could give a response, Sakura had already run past him and was headed for the door. As she swept down near the doorto retrieve her shoes, she yelled over her shoulder.

"Let's talk later!"

And they did.

He became her crutch that first year because he was the only one who didn't leave her. As the seasons flew by, she found herself often times slipping away at night and turning up on his doorstep. She didn't know what she wanted with him and she was sure he didn't either, but he somehow always knew when she was coming, and she was glad for it.She became attached to him, more so than ever.

And that was the first year . . .


End file.
